Flyaway

How a Wild Bird Rehabber Sought Adventure and Found Her Wings

About the Book

Suzie Gilbert discovered her true calling when she began working at a local animal hospital. Eventually, she started bringing abused and unwanted parrots home, and volunteering at a local raptor rehabilitation center. From there it was a short flight to her ultimate commitment: Flyaway, Inc., the nonprofit wild bird rehabilitation center she ran out of her own home.

With heart and delightful wit, Gilbert chronicles daily life in her household-cum-bird-hospital, and recounts the resulting chaos as she, her husband, and their two young children struggled to live in a home where parrots shrieked Motown songs and recuperating herons took over the spare bathroom. Flyaway is a remarkable story of compassion for and dedication to beautiful creatures—and the importance of pursuing even the most unlikely of dreams.

Educator and Librarian Resources

Critical Praise

“Charms, delights, and educates while providing a fascinating tale of love and devotion to the feathered creatures that share our increasingly crowded world.” — Joanna Burger, author of The Parrot Who Owns Me

“Unique and engaging . . . [Gilbert] shows reveals in elegant prose how every creature has value, and how a voice for one is voice for all.” — Lyanda Lynn Haupt, author of Rare Encounters with Ordinary Birds

“Fascinating . . . . A testament to the challenges we all face when we love another being.” — Stacey O'Brien, author of Wesley the Owl

“Readers will acquire education plenty from Gilbert’s discussions of the creatures she encounters and the challenges rehabbers face.” — Kirkus Reviews

“Funny and insightful. . . . Most of us see birds through binoculars and windows. Suzie Gilbert has entered their lives.” — Carl Zimmer, author of Microcosm: E. coli and the New Science of Life and Evolution: The Triumph of an Idea

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